At a time when there is increasing consumer demand for natural, and if possible organic, foods, and an increasing regulatory requirement for the reduction or elimination of artificial chemicals and preservatives; it is alarming to note that many proposed methods for decontaminating meat rely on the addition of chemicals not normally found in such foods.
One such food is a beef product known as Lean Fine Textured Beef (hereinafter “LFTB”). LFTB can be harvested from discarded “fat” cut from carcasses. During the process of boning a carcass, the external fat layer can be removed. During the process, a significant amount of lean meat can be cut from the carcass and discarded with the fat. To recover the lean meat, the discarded fat can be heated to about 109° F. The heated fat can be processed in a centrifuge that separates the fat from the lean meat. The lean meat is then frozen and chipped into small flakes. The finished product, known as LFTB, is then stored in a frozen condition and can later be added to ground beef, for example. The temperature of the LFTB during the separation process does not exceed the temperature that a carcass would normally experience post mortem. As a result, pathogens and bacteria that are present on the surfaces of the carcass prior to boning can result in bacteria being present in the LFTB.
A need exists to more effectively kill, reduce or remove the microbial population on any processed meat, or any other good, liquid or solid, to eliminate sources of cross contamination and recontamination, while simultaneously allaying the concerns of using artificial chemicals. A need also exists to more effectively separate fat from lean meat.